Authorities make arrest in graffiti probe

An 18-year-old Canyon Country man was arrested on suspicion of 52 different “tagging” crimes, sheriff’s officials announced this week.

The suspect was taken into custody without incident earlier this month and may be associated with 52 graffiti-related vandalism cases causing $23,000 in damage, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials said in a news release. The damage occurred over a 13-month period beginning in August 2008.

The release attributed the damage to a “prolific tagger who was repeatedly vandalizing street signs, walls, sidewalks, bus benches and other public property throughout the Canyon Country area.”

The arrest came after a tagger hit Canyon High School on Sept. 12. That vandalism was captured on tape by the school’s new security camera system.

Deputies working with a city graffiti tracking system linked the suspect to other incidents of vandalism in Canyon Country, the news release said.